How To Make Six Figures As A Freelancer And Still Have A Life

“Freelancing” used to refer exclusively to the exotic world populated by well-paid travel photographers and magazine columnists. These days, it’s far more common and encompasses everyone from the jetsetting crowd mentioned earlier, to the mom driving the family van for Uber in between school drop-offs.

Back in 2013, the Freelancers Union issued its “53 Million” report, which claimed that:

There are 53 million people doing freelance work in the U.S. – 34% of the national workforce

People who freelance contribute an estimated $715 billion in freelance earnings to our economy

77% of freelancers say the best days are yet ahead for freelancing

That’s huge, and that’s data from nearly four years ago. It’s clear that these trends have continued, though it’s also true that progress hasn’t been equally distributed – especially as far as finances are concerned. While six-figure freelance incomes are absolutely possible, they aren’t common.

For freelance writers making $20 an article, or freelance designers dropping their prices to compete with overseas teams, the thought of making six figures annually might seem so far out of reach as to be comical. But the reality is, plenty of self-employed workers hit this mark every year. You can be one of them – without totally burning yourself out – if you’re willing to adjust your approach.

Set Your Target Daily Income

Making $100,000+ per year sounds like it’d make you rich, but remember that freelancers have significant self-employment expenses to cover out-of-pocket. In addition to paying self-employment taxes, freelancers may pay for their own retirement contributions (no matches here), private health insurance premiums (which we all know aren’t cheap), and private disability insurance (which can be difficult to get in the first place), among other expenses.

Once all these factors are taken into consideration, six figures isn’t really six figures anymore. Depending on the freelancer’s expenses, this net income could wind up being anywhere from $50,000-$75,000, give or take.

That’s why I recommend not just dreaming about a $100,000+ freelance income, but actually making it your goal. Then, to make that goal attainable, break it down into target daily incomes to make things more concrete.

To earn $100,000 per year, you need to make just over $8,333 per month. If you don’t want to work weekends, that means you’ll need to earn about $374 per day; if you can work seven days a week, plan to earn $273 per day.

That might still sound unreasonable, but in the tips below, I’ll show you how to earn these rates without working 24/7. For now, it’s helpful to know what you need to earn on a daily basis so that you can structure your activities to best meet your needs.